Kuki rights group: Police tampered evidence in ‘Manipur Tapes’ case
New Delhi: The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights (KOHUR) has said that the Manipur Tapes scandal remains unresolved because the Manipur Police forwarded only heavily truncated clips for forensic testing—blocking full verification of the recordings.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the tapes, submitted to the Supreme Court of India in early 2025, allegedly capture conversations of then Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh instigating violence against Christian-majority Kukis, including directives to loot arms and use bombs. More than 260 people—mostly Christians—have died, some 1,500 have been wounded and thousands displaced amid the ethnic violence. Following criticism for his govt’s inability to overcome the crisis, Singh resigned and the state assembly has been suspended since February 13.
In its latest affidavit, KOHUR said Manipur Police sent only four clipped excerpts—ranging from 30 seconds to 1 minute 47 seconds—for testing, instead of the full 48-minute-46-second recording. By withholding the full recording, experts from the National Forensic Sciences University and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory were unable to conclude authenticity.
KOHUR cited a private forensic analysis by Truth Labs, which, after evaluating the full audio and voice samples from YouTube and other sources, found a 93 % probability that the voice matched that of Biren Singh. KOHUR argued that government forensic labs offered only “inconclusive” findings because they were limited to the edited audio.
The organisation is now demanding a court-monitored investigation with a special team to uncover the “larger conspiracy” behind the violence.
“A criminal case must be set in motion based on the audio recordings and the Truth Labs report, so that the truth may emerge through a fair, independent and comprehensive investigation,” KOHUR concluded.
